Infatuation
by FlamingToads
Summary: Suspicious of her husband, Buttercup is afraid that he might have feelings for the Chief of Police and takes it upon herself to investigate. However putting herself into a difficult situation and needing help, she soon realizes that her husband isn't the only one to be infatuated with Lin Beifong.


**Summary: Suspicious of her husband, Buttercup is afraid that he might have feelings for the Chief of Police and takes it upon herself to investigate. However putting herself into a difficult situation ****and needing help, she soon realizes that her husband isn't the only one to be infatuated with Lin Beifong.**

**Infatuation**

Buttercup sat up in the bed, lotioning her arms before going to bed. She could hear her husband in his room, his voice easily heard with such thin walls. His more serious tone gave her the impression that he wasn't just talking to any woman. He was talking to Lin Beifong.

After he had been rescued by the Chief of Police he started acting differently towards her. It didn't take much to see how he swooned over the other women. She did in fact save his life and it was her job to keep others safe. For some reason however, it bothered her much more than she'd care to admit.

Buttercup didn't even know Lin that well. The two women had only spoken a few times before, everything had always been strictly business related and never personal, short and to the point to be perfectly honest.

Buttercup thought to herself as she turned out the light. She laid down on her side, closing her eyes to go to sleep but her thoughts made it almost impossible to fall asleep. An hour had passed before she let out a sigh of frustration, turning on her back and looking up at the ceiling. Her husband chased plenty of women before, so why in the Spirits did it bother her now.

Buttercup chewed on her bottom lip as she thought more about it. She wondered if Lin was like the others. As far as she knew Lin wasn't much of a relationship type. She seemed much tpo serious and with how often she was on the job it would make it difficult to keep a relationship but she imagined how lonely it would be to work and then to return home with nothing to look forward to than another day at work, so an affair wouldn't be too hard to believe.

She could follow her husband, she thought. Just to see if they were fooling around but she thought that wouldn't do simply because if he were to find her following him he'd grow suspicious and catch on quickly. She could follow Lin. So if they weren't meeting each other she much rather have to explain to Lin than to her husband.

She no longer heard her husband speaking and she assumed that the conversation had ended long ago and that he had gone to bed. She pressed her lips together. It was a foolish idea but she hoped that if she could prove they were having an affair it would give her some sort of relief.

**xOxOxOxOxOx**

For almost a week Buttercup had followed Lin. She was quite active being a cop, running about, saving lives and arresting people but other than that it didn't seem like she had any time to spare on a relationship. The longer this carried on the more foolish she felt but she was overwhelmed with the desire of knowing more about Lin and couldn't shake this feeling of hatred at the the thought that there was still a chance something might be going on between Lin and her husband.

At the end of each day Buttercup still had no answers and felt more upset than not, that she had nothing to go one. Just when Buttercup was about call it quits one evening, Lin didn't go straight home. Instead she went to a more risky part of town. Buttercup knew that she probably shouldn't follow her but she was curious as to why she'd go to this side of town at such a late hour. She instantly came to the conclusions that she must be meeting with someone. Why else go to such a shady spot of town?

She followed Lin, making sure she kept her distant but it wasn't at all easy. Lin was sharp on her turns and she moved fast. When she turned down another street if felt like her heart dropped. Lin wasn't there. She nervously continued forward even though it might've not been the best decision. She continued down the alley looking both left and right in hopes that perhaps she might see a glimpse of Lin. She was about to turn around and cut her losses, being here in this alleyway she thought of how foolish she was being.

She turned around, a bit unsure if she was heading in the right direction and suddenly she was cut off when two large men stepped into her path.

"Well hey there, pretty lady."

Buttercup felt a wave of fear clash over her as she took a step back. She felt so tiny in the men's company. They towered over her like a polar bear dog towered over a fire ferret. She didn't want to even know what the two men were thinking as they eyed her over. Whether they were nice or not, two large men who clearly didn't understand personal space in the middle of an alleyway didn't exactly make her feel entirely safe.

"You lost or something?" One of them moved forward, flashing a toothy grin as he did so. Buttercup stepped back not able to find the words.

Buttercup froze feeling someone tightly wrap their arm around her waist. At first she was terrified as of who had their arm around her but she instantly calmed seeing that it was Lin. The earthbender looked at the two men, giving them a scowl.

"Gentlemen," she said sternly. The men straightened up, taking a step back.

"Evening, Chief," one of them said rather quietly as he nodded his head. Lin stepped forward giving them no sort of reply. Buttercup didn't know where Lin was taking her but she felt that anywhere was fine as long as Lin was there.

"You're not very sneaky are you?" asked Lin as the two of them walked into a bar. Buttercup didn't answer. She looked over her shoulder catching one quick glimpse of the two men swagger off in a different direction. She took in her surroundings. The lighting was dim and it smelled of smoke and alcohol. It wasn't particularly crowded, most of who were there were men. There was a group standing in the corner leaving Buttercup to think that perhaps they were gambling. She heard light chatter over the music coming from the radio and before she knew it she was being ushered to take a seat at the bar.

Buttercup looked to Lin, confused to why she would bring her to a place like this but there was no way she was going to walk out of this building alone, so she sat down without question.

"What would you like, Lin?" asked the bartender. Buttercup's eyes flashed up to see a large bald gentleman waiting for her answer.

"The regular," Lin looked at Buttercup and raised a brow. "What would you like?"

"Whatever you are is having, I suppose." The bartender snickered but left to get their drinks.

"Why would you come to a place like this?" Buttercup said softly as the man brought them their drinks.

"Because it's the only place where I can get a good drink. Also, I do the owner a favor by keeping some of the customers in line." Lin downed her drink in one swig and looked back at the bartender. "Make it a double this time." Buttercup raised the glass and pursed her lips looking at the amber liquor. She brought it up to her lips and took a drink.

The liquid burned her throat making her cough. She quickly covered her mouth pushing the glass away from her. She looked at Lin who had a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Not exactly what you're used to drinking," she stated. Lin had seen her drinking at parties but this was a tavern and this wasn't exactly the sort of alcohol you serve at political social events.

"I like to drink but it's been quite a long time since I had something with this much of a kick," Buttercup admitted before nodding her head as a thank you to the bartender who had given her another drink.

"So may I ask why you've been following me?" Lin said as she turned slightly. Buttercup looked at Lin, caught off guard by her switch of topic.

"How long have you known?"

"I imagine I've known since you first started. As the week passed you've gotten better at sneaking around but you're still noticeable."

"Why would you let me follow you for so long and not approach me as soon as you noticed?"

"Because I was curious as to what you were doing. I was wondering of what it was that made you follow me and I wasn't sure as to why you were doing it and I thought if I confronted you right away you might not even tell me why or you might've even lied about following me. I even thought I could've just brought you in for stalking but I chose not to because I found it rather amusing."

"You found it amusing?"

"You've followed me for a week. I assume that you're aware that my career is my life. I don't have much that amuses me. So… Why have you been following me?" Buttercup pressed her lips, curious to what Lin would think if she knew the truth to why she was following her. She sighed, turning slightly and taking another drink.

"I followed you because my husband is quite smitten by you."

Lin scoffed. "I hadn't noticed," she said with a hint of a smile. Buttercup sulked slightly leaning on her elbow with her chin resting in her hand. Something about Lin being aware of her husband's feelings was a bit saddening.

"I don't know why I care. We don't even sleep in the same room." Buttercup took a shot and downed the amber liquid taking the sting of the drink a lot better than her first drink.

"Is it really that bad?" Lin raised her head up slightly glancing over Buttercup's face. The president's wife let out a chuckle.

"He gets around," she stated. For a moment the conversation went silent. Buttercup stared at the fine liquor as Lin let the answer sink in as she observed Buttercup's facial features.

"May I ask you a question?" asked Lin. Buttercup nodded as she looked up from her drink to Lin's eyes. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Buttercup replied, not sure what she meant by that.

"Have you had any affairs, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I had one, but it didn't last long. I felt guilty because they were looking for something more and at the end of the day I'm still married so I ended it." Lin parted her lips. Buttercup could tell that she was thinking about something but she didn't have an idea as to what so she patiently waited for some sort of response.

"If you know your husband does this sort of thing often then why did matter when I was suspected? I take it you haven't followed other women so why did you follow me?" Buttercup looked at her, completely speechless by her question. Why did it bother her so much that Lin was having a possible affair with her husband? She thought to herself for a moment trying to figure out the answer herself.

"Well," she parted her lips, glancing over to Lin. "Because you're different from them, different from me. So with you it's diverse. I can understand why he's so interested in you." She looked back down at her drink, quickly taking another swig of it. She thought about how many women were just like her yet her husband chose to continue his affairs rather than trying to make their relationship work. She never really understood it but she accepted it long ago. That's why it was so odd that Lin was the one he was after now. She was nothing like Buttercup or any of Pesident Raiko's mistresses.

"Well you have nothing to worry about with me. Your husband is flattering but his charm doesn't work on me," she said sincerely.

"It doesn't?" asked Buttercup.

"President Raiko has nothing that I want so if he thinks for a second that I'll give into him in anyway then he's got another thing coming." Buttercup happily drank to that, downing another drink with a smile.

The evening went on and the two of them talk about this and that, mostly about work. In time Buttercup was smashed. Lin drank a few but not nearly as much as Buttercup. She also had a much higher tolerance for alcohol. With the president's wife in this state, she felt responsible for her and she couldn't just leave her on this side of town. Who knows what could happen if she did.

"Let's get you home," Lin said as she stood up from her seat.

"Already?" Buttercup asked as Lin reached out her hand. Buttercup took her hand, smiling brightly to the bartender who was chuckling at the pair of them. Lin paid for their drinks and led the first lady out of the bar. She moved her hand around Buttercup's waist to support her and Buttercup happily leaned against her.

They both walked in a comfortable silence. They had talked most of the evening and at that moment nothing really needed to be said. Buttercup enjoyed Lin's company and though she was tipsy and perhaps she confessed more than she would if she was sober, she felt satisfied knowing that Lin didn't find her husband appealing. Not to mention she quite liked having Lin's arm around her.

"I find it incredibly comforting," she said softly. Lin raised an eyebrow and wondered what she meant. Buttercup looked at her with a crooked grin. "Your arm around my waist... It's nice." Lin rolled her eyes but a smile lingered on her lips. "You know, before tonight I didn't fully understand why my husband was so infatuated by you or why I cared so much about how he felt towards you. But I think I might've been jealous because I too am infatuated by you." Lin wanted to say something but no words left her lips and instead she chuckled. Buttercups eyes lit up as she looked to Lin.

"I thought charm didn't work on you."

"I said your husband's charm didn't work on me." Buttercup smiled.

"Good to know," she said happily as they made their way to her home. When they arrived at the gates to their home, security looked at them in surprised but kept his mouth shut as he let them pass.

Before Buttercup entered her home she stepped forward pressing her lips gently on corner of Lin's lips. Perhaps she meant to kiss her on the cheek or on the lips, Lin wasn't sure. She simply turned from Lin and entered into her home leaving Lin with a lipstick stain on her skin as a silent goodbye.

**xOxOxOxOxOx**

Buttercup woke up the next morning with a dreadful headache. She pushed the hair out of her face and pressed her fingers to her aching head. "_How much did I drink last night?" _she thought to herself.

Buttercup moved on her side, grabbing one of the pillows and pressing it against her body. She could only remember bits and pieces of the night before but the few things she could remember made her feel like an absolute idiot. She frowned to herself remembering the kiss she gave Lin. _"What on earth was I thinking?" _she thought. She turned to her side and groaned loudly into the pillow which she immediately regretted because of her terrible hangover.

**xOxOxOxOxOx**

Buttercup had a slow day. Returning to her normal schedule wasn't a difficult task but it surely wasn't as entertaining as following Lin around but it was what it was. She didn't even know if she could look Lin in the face after acting like such a nitwit the night before. She sat at her desk drinking her tea while she read one of the many letters on her desk. She heard the footsteps of her assistant enter the room.

"Excuse me ma'am, your husband called and he said he'd be home late and-"

"He won't being making it here in time for dinner," she finished not looking away from the letter she was in the middle of reading. The assistant looked at her sorrowfully.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Of course," Buttercup said to herself. As if she already didn't expect this news. The young girl wasn't sure what to say but then bounced up in delight as she walked out of the room coming back in with flowers.

"Also these came for you today." She placed a bouquet of flowers on her desk. Buttercup looked up in surprise.

"Who are they from?"

"You tell me," she said with a smile. Buttercup rolled her eyes grabbing the small card. She looked at it and it simply said, _'You owe me a drink.' _"You're smiling." Buttercup looked up to see the young girl, grinning from ear to ear. Buttercup gave her a glare trying to force a frown but with no luck.

"Will you go do something, anything, and somewhere else please?"

"Yes ma'am," her assistant told her as she hurried away with a grin.

Buttercup looked at the bouquet with a smile, leaning back in her seat. Maybe she didn't make such a fool of herself after all.

**A/N: I was in serious need for some Lin/Butterup but I haven't seen this ship anywhere! So sad… So I made my own. However, I'm incredibly tired and I'm not even sure if this is any good but I hope you enjoyed this in some way or another and that you have a terrific day! :D**


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